I Love the Night Life
by S J Smith-Evil Little Dog
Summary: Rush Valley night life leaves Ed...underwhelmed. Humor, UST, and The Theatre all included. No Als were hurt during the making of this story.
1. I Love the Night Life

**Title: **I Love the Night Life

**Author:** S J Smith

**Rating:** Teen

**Summary: **Rush Valley's night life leaves Ed...underwhelmed.

**Disclaimer:** No, no, never, never, nuh-uh-uh.

**Notes:** Written for the LJ Community, Help_Japan, for Bob_Fish, who asked for: _Rush Valley nightlife, post-manga. Winry working and/or completing her certification in Rush Valley, 'cause I like that. Ed/Win somewhere in the early stages of a relationship. Flailing, dorky post-manga Ed a must. If you feel moved to include some fumbly, adorably awkward sexy happenings between Ed and Win, please do go for it. Al teasing Ed/being evil/being a terrible flirt is totally a major plus._

**Much Thanks To:** D M Evans, who edited this thing, and Gorowek, who made art for it (you can see the art at my mirror post at Archive of Our Own, just take out out the spaces: http : / /archiveofourown . org / works / 367254 ).

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><p>"I still hate this place," Ed grumbled as he stumped off the train platform and into the oven that was Rush Valley.<p>

Al sighed as he caught up to his brother.

Ed glared. "What?"

"You've said. You always say," Al told him, his shoulders rising in imitation of his brother, "'They're like hyenas!' If you hate it here, why do you come?" His voice went sly. "Of course, you do have a really good reason, don't you? A beautiful blond automail mechanic!"

Ed twitched at the sudden prickly heat crossing his back and swarming up his neck. "I need something to drink. Isn't there a stand around here somewhere? There!" Pointing, he led the way toward the drink stand.

Al followed him, and Ed could almost _hear_ the smug grin oozing across his brother's face. "It's because of Winry, isn't it? You wanted to see her!"

"I screwed up my ankle!" Ed raised his leg, wriggling his foot. It made a horrible noise, metal grating on metal, and the sound called the hyenas like a butcher offering a pack of dogs all his stock.

"Hey, I can fix that!"

"Lemme have a look, I'll give you a good deal!"

Scowling, Ed clotheslined the first hyena, elbowing the other one. "See?" He stepped over one of the mechanics. "This is why I hate coming here."

"But you still want to see Winry," Al sing-songed.

"Winry Rockbell?" one of the hyenas picked his head out of the dirt road to ask.

"She's amazing," the other one said in some sort of syrupy, sappy voice that made Ed's blood boil.

He stomped back, raising clouds of dust. Shoving a trembling finger in their faces, he snarled, "She's. My." And just like that, the words got caught in his throat, making Ed squeak. His face heated up, sweat beading on his forehead. "Mechanic!" Spinning on his heel, Ed shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked off, heading deeper into the hyena jungle. Or wherever it was hyenas lived. And Ed could hear his little brother behind him, snickering under his breath. Not to mention, dammit, he forgot to buy his drink.

"Ed! Al!" The familiar voice caught his attention, especially coming from overhead like it did. Paninya dropped off a roof, landing in front of them. "I didn't know you guys were coming into town! It's great to see you!" She grabbed them both in hugs and Ed noticed Al's lasted longer than his. Not that he really _cared_, the little thief was probably robbing Al blind. Ed checked his wallet, almost surreptitiously, then scowled. Like he cared what the thief thought about him making sure she hadn't picked his pocket.

Paninya studied him, her eyes narrowed, her mouth pursed. "So, since I didn't know you were coming, I guess Ed did something to his automail?"

"Yes," Al said, as Ed showed his teeth, his glare darkening.

"I didn't fuck up my automail!"

"He did," Al said, in a loud, confiding tone to Paninya, who grinned.

Ed wondered if he could bury Al in a landslide and make it look like a natural accident. No, Winry would miss his brother too much. Grumbling under his breath, Ed continued making his way into the depths of Rush Valley, hoping the hyenas weren't paying attention to the wounded automail in their midst. He kept seeing heads popping out of shops and glared, showing his teeth to warn them off.

"I figured." Paninya fell into step beside Al. Ed could hear the familiar whirr and clank of her automail behind him. He wondered if Al was grinning at her. Al grinned at girls a lot. And at guys. Actually, he grinned at everyone. Weird. Scowls worked better. They cleared the path before him, and Ed liked that. "Well, Winry will be glad to see one of you, at least!"

Sneering to himself, Ed kept walking best he could with the lump of metal masquerading as his foot. Winry would be happy to see him, too, right? Last time they'd talked, she'd had a funny catch in her voice when she'd asked if he was visiting soon. He didn't have any idea, even had told her so, feeling a little bad for saying it. That had been three weeks ago. Ed frowned, hoping she didn't think he'd busted his automail just for a chance to see her. He hadn't, really! He'd kicked a door down and his foot didn't work right afterward. Stupid foot.

Well, whatever she thought, he'd find out soon enough. Garfiel's shop was visible from a couple of blocks away. The flower design next to the man's name made it stand out from the others. Shaking his head, Ed peered through the open doorway, hoping to see Winry before she spotted him.

"Winry! Look who's here!" Paninya all but shouted in his ear, making Ed shriek and jump in shock. "It's Ed and Al!"

Garfiel's frilly apron caught Ed's eye and he hoped his grimace could be mistaken for a smile. Garfiel was a decent guy, nearly as flamboyant as Armstrong, but at least he didn't _hug_. "Oo, Edward and Alphonse!" He sashayed across the floor, laying a finger on his cheek. "Winry-darling is out running errands, but you're welcome to wait for her! I could serve you some tea? Oo, and I have these lovely little tarts…come in, come in and have a seat! Yes, Paninya, you, too!"

Paninya had hold of Al's arm – when did that happen? – and they were heading into the shop, heads close together, leaving Ed to follow along in their wake. As they sat down, Garfiel fluttered around them, making clucking noises. He reminded Ed of the old hag's chickens. "Winry will be so happy to see you!" Clasping his hands together, he beamed at the Elric brothers. "Such a surprise – and what perfect timing." He leaned close to Ed to ask, "Did you damage your ankle joint on purpose?"

"Geh! No! Fire! Door! Had to kick it down!" Ed stammered, the back of the chair keeping him from retreating as far as he'd like from Garfiel's painted face.

"That's positively heroic!" Garfiel batted his long, curly lashes. "Goodness, Paninya, we're in the midst of heroes!"

"The fire thing was all Ed," Al said, selling him out like a traitor, and grinning at all the teeth Ed showed him. "I just stood back and watched."

"No, you didn't," Ed began, only to have Al interrupt him with, "Oh, I didn't do anything major, just kept the mother from going back inside the house."

That wasn't quite the way it happened, but before Ed could correct everyone on their understanding – including his brother, who was enjoying Ed's discomfort far too much – Winry's voice sailed into the room. "Mr. Garfiel? I heard someone say," and then, there she was, and it was all Ed could do not to stare. When had she gotten so…tan…on her belly? And why did he want to taste her belly button? Shaking his head, he tried to follow whatever it was Winry was saying but it was har – er, _difficult!_ Yeah! – when she had that smile on her face.

At least she wasn't angry. Yet. Ed hoped she'd stay sweet and nice and, dammit, he was really thinking those things, wasn't he? And he figured it wasn't just the heat making him sweat. And Al's stupid, knowing smile – he'd really have to thrash his brother at some point. "You guys!" Winry sailed across the room, hugging Al and beaming at Ed over the top of his brother's head. "I'm so glad to see you! You're just in time!"

From the gleam in her eyes, Ed had to wonder just what the hell Al and he were in time for…and whether coming here had been that great of an idea, after all.

X X X

"A show?"

"At the theatre," Winry repeated patiently. Honestly, was it that hard to understand? "I won tickets. Paninya and I were going to go, but now that you're here." Spreading her hands, she said, "You can go with me!"

"To a show. At the theatre?"

Seriously, were all boys this dense? Maybe Al wasn't, Winry thought despairingly. He'd been excited when she'd mentioned winning the tickets. _He_ got it, and immediately offered to take Paninya when Paninya insisted that Winry should give Ed her second ticket. In fact, they'd immediately gone out to look for something for Al to wear.

Ed, on the other hand.

"Yes, to the show at the theatre."

Lolling on the chair in her bedroom, Ed had that suspicious look on his face that reminded Winry of Mrs. Culbertson's donkey back in Resembool. Jenny didn't do anything unless she thought there was something in it for her. "Do we have to?"

Winry stepped even closer to him, wagging a finger in his face. "Ed."

Art by Gorowek

He pouted, reaching out to tug her hand free and pull her closer. "I was thinking we could do something fun," he said, blushing and looking down for a second, then back up at her. "I, uh…I got us a hotel room."

And then he surprised her like this. "You what?" Winry stared down at him, trying to let that percolate through her brain.

Ed tugged her again, pulling her down into his lap. "Got us a room." Pushing her hair back, he leaned his chin on her shoulder. "For…you know." His breath was warm against her skin, and when he licked her neck, Winry was almost willing to go along with it.

Almost.

"So we'll you know after the theatre," Winry said, slapping her hands on his chest.

"Nng!" Ed shifted his weight, disappointment and lust warring for space in his eyes.

Winry nearly gave in again, but still. Tickets to the show! And while she was on that thought, "Ed?"

"What, Winry?" Hope bloomed, crowding out Ed's disappointment.

"You know, after I fix your ankle, you need to get some clothes to wear tonight."

Ed was so cute when he sulked like that.

X X X

Ed dragged at the collar of his shirt, wincing when Winry smacked his hand. "Stop that," she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

"It's too tight," he grunted.

"Shhh!"

Hunching his shoulders, Ed glared at the stage below. The balcony box seats were great, he guessed, and someone had spent some money getting them. Too bad this wasn't his kind of place. Hell, he wasn't sure it was Winry's kind of place. He sneaked a sidelong look at her, seeing the scowl marring her face. Shit. He was doing it again, making her feel like he didn't care. He did. Just…not about this kind of crap. The shabby velvet of the seats and curtains and the dust on the stage made Ed cringe. It wasn't like the movie man, who'd show up in Resembool every few months when they were kids. They'd sit out on the grass on blankets and watch movies on the side of Coyle's General Store. He'd have felt a helluva lot more comfortable taking Winry to something like that.

But Winry had won tickets to see the show, and it was going to make her happy to see it.

A piano, with a few keys out of tune, jangled below. A board announced the next act, the curlicues and flourishes making it almost as difficult to read as a strange alchemist's journal. There had been some women earlier, bouncing across the stage in stockings and short, flouncy skirts and really low-cut, not quite flouncy tops. When Ed had nearly swallowed his tongue at the girls bending over and flashing their panties, Winry'd elbowed him, hard. Trying to keep from cursing, Ed rubbed his ribs. He hoped the rest of the evening's entertainment didn't follow suit.

The second act was a man reciting poetry while wearing clothes that made Ed want to crawl away and hide. It dripped with extra fabric and poofy parts and the guy's hair in a ponytail tied off with a huge bow. While the guy spouted his lines in the sappiest way possible, Winry smiled. No, not smiled, _melted_. Ed wriggled in his seat. Winry didn't really like that crap, did she? Oh, hell, she was giving him this bright-eyed look, warning him he'd sure as hell better learn some stupid poetry to tell her. Al…Al had to know some poetry Winry'd like, right? Geeze.

There were two more acts, and people applauded and hooted and whistled so loud, and Ed kept getting more and more antsy. There had to be more to this theatre crap than _this_. "Winry," he muttered, as a man and a woman showed off all their weird little dogs' tricks, "how'd you win these tickets?" Maybe he could go beat someone up and make sure she never won any again.

"Poker game," Winry said, eyes trained on the dogs as they all stood on their hind legs and twirled in circles together.

Well, that explained it; no man would willingly want to come to a show like this, right? Unless there were more of the girls dancing around…no, he knew he shouldn't be thinking about _them_. Ed slumped back into his seat, and tried to think of the hotel room and what he hoped would follow after they left the show.

Shit. That wasn't helping, either.

He shifted in his seat, hoping Winry wasn't paying any attention, and glad that the balcony seats were curtained and dark, so he could will his body back into not being stupid at a time like this.

The intermission finally came, letting them escape out into the main area. The people in the audience milled together, talking about the acts. Ed let Winry pull him along. She deserted him for the ladies' room, but not before asking him to get something for her to drink. Ed made his way to the bar, ordering for them both and taking the glasses with him to track Winry down.

He didn't like lurking outside the ladies' room. He wasn't a pervert, but Ed knew if he didn't want to miss Winry in the crowds, he'd need to be close enough to spot her when she came out. A couple of women eyed him as they made their way in or out of that forbidden room, making Ed wish he was anywhere else. Of course, the way this evening was going, he really wanted to just walk out of the theatre and not look back. There had to be a way to handle the rest of the night.

Tossing back part of his drink, Ed eyed the women coming out of that stupid room. He kept seeing those frilly panties in his mind, and – dammit! – he didn't need to be thinking about frilly panties, or what Winry might be wearing under that dress of hers. The women who were lining up outside the ladies' room were going to think he was a creep if he couldn't get his mind on something else. Tipping his glass to his mouth, Ed finished it off, setting the glass down on a little narrow thing masquerading as a table.

"Ed!" Al was suddenly there, and Ed let out a sigh of relief at the sight of his brother. "Isn't this a great show?" he asked.

He gaped at his brother. "You're kidding, right?"

Al cocked his head to the side, and stuck his hand in his pants pocket. The glass in his hand, the way he posed, put Ed in mind of Mustang. Ugh. "Brother, you're looking at this the wrong way." He sipped at the drink.

"There's a right way to look at it?"

Throwing an arm around Ed's shoulder, Al pulled him closer. "Don't be an idiot. Those balcony seats are choice, like your own private room." Ed wondered why Al was raising his eyebrows, like he was supposed to be getting some sort of secret. "You understand, right?" he went on. "No one can see you?"

"Yeah, so? No one can see anyone down on the floor either," Ed snorted.

"I can't believe you're this stupid," Al groaned, and if he didn't have the drink in his hand, Ed was pretty sure Al would've smacked himself on the forehead.

"I'm not stupid!" Ed hissed. "I just don't get what you're saying. Is this some sort of stupid code?"

"Yes, Ed." He almost sounded pissed. "It's a code. About being alone. With a beautiful woman. And. No one. Can. See. You." With each word, Al poked him in the chest with his finger.

There was a pause while Ed considered punching Al for poking him in the chest – damn, it hurt – and then, visions of frilly panties danced in his head. "You mean."

"It's loud outside the box seats, but intimate inside them." Al grinned.

Eyes widening at the implications, Ed snapped his mouth closed. "Yeah. Uh. Yeah."

"Al!" Paninya showed up in a swirl of dress and perfume, her hair dancing around her face. Ed didn't think he'd ever seen it down before. "We need to get back to our seats." Her smile took in Ed, and she bumped him with her hip, making him fumble with Winry's drink to keep from spilling it. "You are treating Winry right, aren't you?"

Al took her arm to lead her off before Ed could answer, whispering in Paninya's ear. She laughed, shaking her head, and glanced over her shoulder at him, the pity in her eyes making Ed flush. Well, now he knew what he had to do! He turned around, watching the bathroom door and ignoring the strange looks he got from the women.

There was a sound, like a bell, and the lights flickered. The power wasn't going out, was it? No, everyone started moving back toward the actual theatre. Ed mentally groaned, but then Winry appeared out of the bathroom.

She really was the prettiest girl here, Ed knew it. He didn't know where that black dress came from, or if she'd picked it out or Garfiel had, but it was the kind of dress that made his tongue want to spool out of his mouth. Silk stockings sheathed her legs, and when she'd spun in front of him back at Garfiel's place, Ed couldn't help but want to trace the seam running from her heels and disappearing up under the hem of her skirt with something other than his eyes. The dress showed off all of Winry's curves, too, and Ed made sure to put a proprietary hand in the small of her back as they walked back to their box. It wasn't his fault when Winry started up the stairs and his hand slid down over the curve of her ass, really! Winry shot him a look out of the corner of her eye, and Ed nearly tripped. Was Al right? Did Winry want these seats for _that_ reason? Did she know, too, and think he was dumb for not figuring it out earlier?

With those thoughts spinning in his head, they got back to their box. Ed pulled the door shut behind them. As he was getting ready to sit down, Winry glanced sidelong at him. "Did you like watching my butt going up the stairs?"

"Gah," Ed said, or something about as intelligent, but he remembered to nod. That seemed to be the right answer, since Winry smiled. It wasn't quite her normal smile, though, and the difference in it made Ed's skin tingle. As the lights went down in the theatre and spotlights shone onto the stage, he leaned closer to her. She smelled really good, Ed thought, warm and sweet with just a hint of metal tang – like always. Almost edible. The man on stage was asking for volunteers from the audience when Ed gave in to temptation and tasted the rounded slope of Winry's shoulder.

"Ed." Winry sounded somewhere between surprised and happy, and Ed peered up into her eyes. They were glowing, like big blue, hell, he wasn't good with the whole romantic analogy thing, but they were gorgeous.

"Like that?" he asked, letting his teeth graze her skin lightly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Winry twisted slightly in her seat, and her breast nearly bumped into his chin.

Art by Gorowek

Ed couldn't help but glance down, seeing her nipples straining against the fabric. "This," he murmured. Smoothing his hand up her body, he cupped her breast, gliding his thumb over the thrust of her flesh.

"Ed." This time, his name came out faint and breathy, and all protests, real or otherwise, were gone. Winry caught hold of his chin and pulled it up to kiss him, their noses bumping off of each other until Ed turned his head and Winry sucked on his lower lip, and oh, hell, did they really have to wait until the end of the show? "These," she murmured, pulling back, but only so far as to be able to look him in the eye, "these seats were expensive."

"You won them in a poker game," he reminded.

"Somebody paid for them," Winry shifted in her seat so she could look down at the stage again, "so we should watch the show."

From the tone of her voice, Ed thought she might be able to be convinced to sneak out early. "We could send one of the ushers to give Al and Paninya these seats," he mumbled in her ear, nibbling on her lobe.

Winry moaned, her eyelids fluttering. "Yeah, okay," she said, and dragged away from him to get to her feet.

It couldn't be that easy, could it? But Winry was standing there, and looking at him, and Ed knew he had to move now, or they'd be stuck here at the stupid theatre with Dr. Mesmer and his amazing feats of tricking people into doing what he wanted or what-the-hell-ever. Anyway, Winry already had that sort of hold over him.

Getting up, Ed opened the door for Winry to go through, and they both nearly fell down the stairs in their urgency to get out of the theatre. Spotting an usher, Ed flagged him down with a five hundred cenz note. "We're leaving," he said, "give our box number three-ten to Alphonse Elric and his date on the floor, row and seats seven-A and seven-B."

Winry smiled at the usher, and Ed wondered if he'd wasted that note. The guy walked away with a kind of a dazed expression, though Ed didn't really blame him. Winry was cherry. "So, uh, we've got a hotel room waiting for us," he said, as a reminder.

"Yeah." Winry beamed at him now, though it wasn't quite as intense a smile; it was softer, and warmer, and a lot of other things that made Ed want to just push her into a secluded room. Which he could do at the hotel, he reminded himself, and offered Winry his arm. She took it with a breathy chuckle, and they walked onto the street.

It seemed they barely got two steps away from the theatre when Ed's ankle squeaked.

"Ed," Winry growled, "what did you do? Your maintenance should last longer than eight hours!"

"Hey! Hey! I can fix that!" someone shouted, and hyenas started pouring out of the shops.

Ed groaned. "I hate Rush Valley."


	2. Box Seats

**Title: **Box Seats

**Author:** S J Smith

**Rating:** K+

**Summary: **Al and Paninya may be having more fun than Ed and Winry.

**Disclaimer:** No, no, never, never, nuh-uh-uh.

**Notes:** Written for the LJ Community, FMAGiftExchange, for D M Evans, who asked for: _If Brother feels he needs to drag Al along for moral support in Rush Valley, then Al sees no reason not to enjoy himself. _

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><p>"Do you think they're having a good time?" Paninya craned her neck around, trying to spot the balcony box seat that Winry had won in a poker game. Originally, she was supposed to join Winry in the box, but when the Elric brothers showed up in town, well, Paninya was happy to step back and let Ed take her seat. Besides, it wasn't like Al and she wouldn't have fun together.<p>

Al snorted, loud enough to attract attention from one of the women in the row ahead of them. She shot him a glare that he managed to miss, but Paninya stuck her tongue out, making the woman's eyes widen. She turned abruptly to her partner and began whispering in his ear.

Paninya stretched her hands in front of her and smiled at Al, pretending she'd been paying attention to him. "Um?"

Eyebrows rising, Al asked, "Were you paying any attention to what I just said?"

She lifted her eyes, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Um…Ed, Winry, blah blah, Ed's being a jerk?"

Snorting again, Al muttered, "Close enough."

The woman and her date both were glaring now. It wasn't like they had any reason to, as far as Paninya was concerned. The theatre was always noisy, especially during intermission, and the show hadn't started yet. Not that some people cared; they'd talk through a show anyway. And Al wouldn't do that, and neither would she, so it wasn't like they were interrupting anything, as of yet. Paninya couldn't make a face at them right now, though, not with Al looking at her. "Well, it is your brother," she said, shrugging.

"Yeah…poor Winry."

"Oh, I'm sure she can make him see the light!" Paninya thought Winry could do a really good job of it, too. She'd been listening in just as closely when Garfiel told stories about what he and his boyfriends got up to, and, from what Winry'd said about her grandma, she'd had a lot of education on boys, and what should be done with them, even before she came to Rush Valley.

Someone cleared their throat, and Paninya and Al both turned to see an usher smiling at them faintly. "Mr. Elric?"

"Yes?"

The usher smiled faintly. "You and your date should come with me."

"Oh, god," Al mumbled, through the tight smile fixed on his face, "what did my brother do now?" His fingers felt cold when Paninya grabbed them. "Yes?" he asked, when they were clear of the row and out in the aisle.

The usher gestured with his head for them to follow him. "You've been given an opportunity," he said, leading them back up the aisle.

Paninya tilted her head, glancing up toward the balconies, a grin building on her face, one that got broader as the usher led them to the stairway and up into the box aisle. He opened a door, gesturing them inside. "Compliments of Miss Rockbell and her date," he said.

"Well," Al smiled, as the door closed behind them, "maybe Ed isn't an idiot, after all."

Winding her arms around his neck, Paninya said, "Hopefully, his little brother's just as smart, too."

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><p>- end -<p> 


End file.
